Iranian Jews have been living in
Iran (Persia) since 2700 years ago and there are many
holy and historical places of Jews in this country such as the tomb of Prophet
Daniel in the city of Shoush, Ester and Mordechai in Hamedan and Prophet
Habakkuk in Touiserkan.

There are also tombs of several
outstanding Jewish scholars in Iran like "harav Uresharga" in Yazd and "Hakham
Mullah Moshe Halevi" in Kashan. Muslims had respected these also.

At the present, population of the
Jews in Iran is estimated about 15,000 of which about 8,000 people are
in Tehran (the Capital) and the rest of them in terms of population are residing
in Shiraz, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Yazd, Kerman, Rafsanjan, Borujerd, Sanandaj and
Oromieh respectively.

Administration of Jewish Social
Religious affairs in the past has been under the two authorities, “Hebra” (the
assembly of the elite of community) and “Bet-Din” (the house of religion). Since
1938, Hebra was formally registered under the title of “Tehran Jewish Committee
(Association)” and now is operating under supervision of the Ministry of
Interior, and Ministry of culture and Islamic Guidance and Endowments
Organization. This association has committees (subgroups) like Cultural, States,
Youth, (Domestic) Dispute Settling, and Cooperative committees (for poor
families).

By establishment of the National
legislature in Constitutional period (about a century ago), religious minorities
in Iran obtained representation in the parliament and since then Jews have
always had representatives in the parliament. After the victory
of the Islamic Revolution, a Jewish representative has had an active presence in
the Constitution of Elite Council. According to the Constitution, Jews have a
representative in Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament called “Majlis”).
Political, social, and religious activities of Jewish society revolve around
Jewish religious authorities (Currently Chief Rabbi Yousef Hamedani Cohen), Jews
representative in Islamic Consultative Assembly and Tehran Jewish Committee
Board of Directors. Any position declaration or pursuance of legal, political,
and social issues of Jewish society is addressed through the above bodies.

At the present, this community has
many synagogues, special schools, cultural complexes, youth, students and women
centers, aging centers, central libraries, computer training centers, music
training centers, gathering halls and butcheries according to Jewish religion in
different regions and cities of the country. Information and publishing of
Jewish cultural works as many different books and journals almost always have
been present and after the Islamic Revolution, in addition to periodical local
bulletins, the magazine of “Tamouz” (up to 1989) and the monthly of “Ofegh-BINA”
(organ of Jewish Committee since 1999) have been responsible for the task.
Tehran Jews usually do their sport activities in the sport club of “Gibor.” This
club is responsible for sport training courses and competitions as well as
contests between religious minorities and always has the cooperation from Jew
and non-Jew coaches. Jewish Women Organization is cooperating with this club in
women sport affairs too. Charity Hub is also one of the charity agencies of
Jewish society and one of its main activities is managing the Dr. Sapir Hospital in
south of Tehran city that provides services to all of Tehran citizens. The cost
of maintaining this hospital is primarily provided by the Jewish charities.

Religious teaching for Jews is
taught formally up to the end of high school according to books approved by
Education Ministry in certain hours (instead of Islamic teachings and the Quran)
in public schools. Along with this, sessions for training of religious teachings
and the explanation of Torah and sometimes teachings of Talmud are taught
irregularly in the synagogues (Talmud Torah). In addition, groups of youth
usually organize religious gathering and congregations and religious speeches in
most of synagogues of Tehran and other cities throughout the country.

Tehran Jews has established and
made use of many schools but in recent years, because of reduction in population
as well as dispersal of Jewish students to other public schools, a number of
these schools are being used by the Education Office and Muslim students. Now,
five special schools for teaching Jews are active in Tehran.

* * * * *

Cultural Committee

Among the daily important tasks of
the Cultural Committee is providing answers to Muslim scholars about different aspects of
Jewish religion and culture. In addition, association of the Cultural Committee
has the responsibility of editing and evaluation of several books and academic
dissertations about the Jewish religion and in some cases a representative from this
committee has also participated in the formal defense of dissertations .

Fortunately, the Jewish Committee
as a formal authority is reflecting views in the field of Jewish culture at the
scientific and academic circles of the country.Thus in many of the
meetings, seminars and mass media programs which are held on monotheistic
religions, cultural and religious delegates from the Jewish religious community
are invited to take part by the Tehran Jewish Committee.

In addition per an agreement
reached by the colleges of religious courses of Tehran's universities, in each
educational term, a session of Jewish religion subject matter is provided in
which an expert from the Cultural Committee in the university is present or
university students actively take part in these sessions held by the Cultural
Committee.

Publications make up another part
of activities of the Cultural Committee. Sidour “Tefilat Yasharim” (prayer book)
along with Persian translation of its important parts has been recently prepared and
provided . Compilation and publication of Jewish and Persian yearly calendar is
the responsibility of experts from this Cultural Committee.

Press and Publications Division of
Tehran Jewish Committee take part in the Tehran International Book Fair every
year and have a special pavilion for providing answers to Iranian Muslim
clientel.

The Journal of “Ofegh-BINA”

This magazine as the organ of
Jewish Committee began its publication in 1999. This is a social, news, and
cultural journal and aims to provide information services to the Iranian Jewish
community as well as making their Muslim countrymen and women familiar with
Jewish culture and establishing dialog between the two. Most
of its authors and operators are made up of Jewish youth and Mr. Haroun
Yashayaei; the current chairman of the board of directors of theTehran Jewish Committee is its
managing director.

This magazine has been welcomed
and promoted by the authorities of Islamic Republic of Iran.

Persian-Hebrew Dictionary

This dictionary is compiled by
“Solomon Haim” (1889-1968), one of the most famous Jewish scientists of Iran. He
has compiled the most well known French-Persian, Persian-English, and
English-Persian dictionaries and for this he is highly honored
among the people of Iran.

in 1935 he began his 10-year effort
of compiling Hebrew-Persian Dictionary and published a valuable and unique
book that since then has used by Jewish and non-Jewish scholars of Iran in the
Hebraic language and texts. He also began compiling a Persian-Hebrew Dictionary,
but most did not complete the work due to his
death.The edition and publication of this
dictionary was takenup by Tehran Jewish Committee but despite all its
efforts, the
objective has not been achieved.Now a special task force in the Cultural
Committee is editing, adding new words, updating and performing final typesetting of
the work to be prepared for publication.

Schools

The most important duties of the
Cultural Committee are the handling and supervising of special Jewish schools and
providing classes for religious teaching and training of Jewish religious acts
for those Jewish students that study in public schools.

According to estimates, about 1200 Jewish students are studying in Iran that in Tehran half
of the Jewish students are studying in special schools and other half attend in
public schools. In other cities, all of Jewish students attend public
schools and their religious teachings and acts are usually taught on Fridays
(weekend holiday in Iran) and these special classes are held in Tehran, Shiraz,
and other Jewish-residing cities of the country.

Nursery Schools

Nursery schools of the Tehran Jewish
Committee have been quite successful in the community with general attendance of
more than 100 Jewish children learning special lessons and skills in
these schools under the guidance of principals and
experienced trainers.

The Library

The Central Library of the Jewish
Association with more than 8000 titles and 14000 volumes is now active and is one of the important centers of
the Jewish Committee Due to the variety of titles and subjects of the books and
the preparing of the "last
published editions" of newly published local and foreign books, the library has
attracted many borrowers
and members.

Aside from Jewish members and
clients, many of the clients of this library are f non-Jewish scholars and
researchers who by receiving guidance from the Cultural Committee and Library
authorities make use of the comprehensive resources of the
Library especially in the division allocated to religion and culture.

Computer Center

Providing Jewish special schools
with computer sites as well as training formal courses and extra computer
courses in these schools are among the responsibilities of the Computer Center of
Tehran Jewish Committee. All services of typesetting, page setting and
typography, the press and publications of Tehran Jewish Committee as well as
providing technical support for computer units of this Committee and related
centers are included among the tasks of this center’s experts.

Designing, operating, supporting
and updating the internet Base of the Tehran Jewish Committee which are among
the most important activities of this center are done in direct cooperation with
Cultural Committee and the journal of “Ofegh-Bina”. At the present, this site is
in Persian and soon its English version will also be in operation.

Providing various computer
software including translation of “Psalm” (Tehilim) and designing Hebrew font
compatible with Persian software are project central to the scientific activities of this center.

Youth Committee

Organizing the activities of
Iranian Jewish youth in cultural, artistic, sport, and social fields is one of
the most important duties of the Tehran Jewish Committee. Attraction of emigration
abroad, disappointment in the finding appropriate jobs and problems in regarding to
mating and marriage in the Jewish community are among the special problems of Iranian
Jewish community youth.

Sport teams of Jews for boys in
futsal,volleyball and basketball fields are active now. Young people and their
families have welcomed forming classes for musical training at different levels.
Organizing recreational and pilgrimage tours in different parts of Iran for
Jewish youth are some other activities of this committee. To achieve the above
purposes, there are several youth organs in Tehran, Shiraz and Isphahan.

For helping with the marriage of young people, the Board of Directors of the
Committee have allocated an interest-free loan for any Jewish couple who apply
to obtain the loan and provide their marriage certificate.

Iranian Jewish Students’ Organization (I.J.S.O)

IJSO is one of the centers belonging to Tehran Jewish youth, a place for
cultural, social, and artistic activities for Jewish university students. This
organization by holding weekly meetings covering scientific, social, musical
lectures and free discussion, as well as holding cultural seminars along with
publication of student local bulletins, plays an important part in student
activities of the Iranian Jewish community. A branch of this organization,
located in Shiraz, has similar activities.

Jewish Women Organization

The general weekly meetings of this organization usually are on social and
cultural issues with general attendance of more than 50 women. Consideration and
attention to the legal rights of Jewish women, participation in their different
gatherings and meetings, and familiarity of Jewish women with their own legal
rights are among the activities and goals of this organization.

Dr. Sapir Hospital

Dr. Sapir Hospital and Charity Center is the largest charity for religious
minorities in Iran. This large charity center which has been helping all poor
and needy citizens from the first days of its establishment (at the present more
than 90 per cent of its clients are non-Jewish citizens), has obtained a high
reputation for the Iranian Jewish community, during more than half a century.
Now, it is one of the most important contact means with the authorities of the
Islamic system and Iranian compatriots. Tehran Jewish Committee employs all
possible means for the maintenance of Dr. Sapir Hospital and providing it with
modern health and medical equipments.

Synagogues

There are about 100 synagogues(active and inactive) in Iran of which about 31
are in Tehran. Iranian synagogues, in terms of the history and place of
construction, have a variety of architectural styles. There are several
synagogues in Tehran, Yazd and Isfahan cities, which because of their antiquity
and beauty of architecture have been ear marked as national historic sites by
the Cultural Heritage Organization of the country and have been recorded and
come under protection of that organization. Apart from some of the synagogues in
the south of Tehran city and some other cities from which Jewish residents have
migrated, most of the synagogues in different parts of the country are up and
active. In two of the great synagogues of Tehran and one great synagogue in
Shiraz, on every Friday evening (Sabbath) about 500 people are gathering and
holding congregations.

* * * * *

Iranian Jews in the vicissitudes history of this Islamic country always tried to
have good coexistence with their compatriots. Although in many of historical
epochs, problems and sometimes disasters have happened for this society, the
vigilance and wisdom of Muslim and Jewish leaders has prohibited the
continuation or recurrence of those problems and disasters.

After the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, despite the emphasis of the
Constitution on formality and maintaining the rights of Jewish, Christian and
Zoroastrian religious minorities, social pressures exerted on this community
caused emigration of many of them. However, the coherence of this community was
maintained by efforts of Jewish community authorities and through many meetings
with leaders and heads of administrative, legislative and judiciary as well as
legal proceedings, welfare and security of Jewish citizens was maintained at a
stable level. Now, the relations of Jewish authorities with high-ranking
officials of the state are at a very desirable level. In spite of some
humiliations from some of the journals and the mass media regarding the rights
and religious sanctity of Jews, Jewish authorities view the problem largely due
to actions of political Zionism and the regime of Israel, which sometimes causes
suspicion toward all of Iranian and the world Jews. The Jewish Committee, while
responding and prosecuting these humiliations and misunderstandings toward the
Jewish religion and culture, has formally declared the separation of sanctity
and religious causes of the Jewish community from Zionist political objectives,
and in many instances, has protested against crimes of the Israeli regime and
violation of human rights by this regime.

* * * * *

The country of Iran is one of the most ancient historical lands of Jews where
one can see many indications of Jewish identity in its different parts. All of
the world Jews can, without facing any difficulty, visit the vast and historical
country of Iran and its picturesque beauty, and the relics and historical
shrines of Jews as well.

The Tehran Jewish Committee is ready to provide coordination and guidance for
Jewish groups who are visiting Iran.